Ethnicity And The Police Part I

policies that are currently in place to reduce tension between police officers and the minority groups that they serveLaw enforcement officers and the community have been disconnected. Violence and brutality of any kind, particularly at the hands of the police who here to protect and serve our communities. When Ferguson, Missouri exploded after the police shot an unarmed black teenager, the tension between the community and its protectors was laid bare. Ferguson is not the first and certainly not the last community forced to bridge that chasm. In South Carolina a policeman shot an unarmed black male who was stopped for a seat belt violation. The cop asked the male for ID, who then reached under his seat to retrieve his wallet, but was shot in the leg by the cop before he could take out his ID. When the body cam video was reviewed it shows that the trigger happy cop probably was in fear of his life, however it is also obvious that the cop shouldn’t have felt threaten as the behavior of the black male involved nothing unusual. Many would say if the driver was white the cop would have not reacted the way he did.

Law enforcement and minorities have long been the focus of the criminal justice injustice within the United States. African Americans, Arab Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic and Latino Americans are a number of communities in the United States along with Caucasian or non-minorities as a whole, which make up a large portion of the United States. Racial discrimination has been a large factor the criminal justice system has been plagued with for many years. In the book Just Mercy, authored by Bryan Stevenson, Stevenson details his life’s work to help those who were wrongfully convicted and biased towards in sentencing. A big part of the book is related to racial discrimination among officers. Analytically I will be looking at the question of whether the relations between the police and minority and non-minority communities differ. I will look at number of factors related to traffic enforcement practices, use of force and arrest of minorities and non-minorities in determining if there is any differences among police community relations.

It is unfair to be biased and quick to misjudge minorities in America based on the actions of others who fall under the same ethnic or religious background. However these misjudgments occur countless times every day resulting in either physical or verbal abuse against these minorities, as well as encouraging stereotypical views. As odd as it may seem, many members of the police force target these minorities simply because they are not of the same race, gender, or religion. To be more specific African Americans, Muslims, and women are being abused both physically and mentally by intolerant individuals and the police force. Although in some cases an arrest is necessary, the excessive use of force against a person is not and is considered inhumane. Justice is still being sought for the people who have been mistreated and their stories will not be forgotten.

highlighting the tensions between police and minority communities (Holmes and Smith, 2008). First, in 1963, police used police dogs and high-powered water hoses against civil rights protestors in Birmingham, Alabama (NAACP, 2005). The usage of such violent and outrageous tactics by the police became the center of national attention that sparked major public outcry. Then, on March 7, 1965, during what is now known as Bloody Sunday, Alabama State Troopers attacked non-violent protestors and civil rights advocates with both tear gas and batons, which led to the hospitalization of over 50 people (Holmes and Smith, 2008). These events were key in signaling that a police reform was once again necessary across law enforcement agencies in the United

The Bradford riots in 1995, and other public outcries showed the growing animosity that was being felt toward the police by minority ethnic communities. Another factor, which led the opinions of minority ethnic citizens of the police to become additionally hostile, is the ever advancing statistical and research evidence of racism within the police force. In 1978 Stuart Hall et al showed most clearly how, largely on the basis of pre-existing stereotypes minority ethnic people (in particular black people) were being criminalized and subjected to extraordinary policing and punishment. Both these factors increased the feelings of hatred for the police amongst minority ethnic communities. This was then furthered by the subsequent failings of the Scarman report.

Multiculturalism is as we discussed in class, “a range of cultures trying to live as one.” We today live in a very diverse, multicultural world that for the most part if very accepting. Multiculturalism does not necessarily just apply to race. The LGBTQ community, age groups and class is also be considered a culture that contributes to our society. Being that we are a very diverse bunch, our law enforcement officers should also represent that. Multiculturalism impacts the relationship with our law enforcement agencies because if there the agency itself is multicultural we can expect them to better understand us as the general public. When on call it could drastically change the direction in which it goes. If we have a law enforcement agency

"Relations between the police and minority groups are a continuing problem in many multiracial societies. Surveys consistently document racial differences in perceptions of the police, with minorities more likely than whites to harbor negative views." (Weitzer and Tuch, Race and Perceptions of Police Misconduct, 2004)

As a sociology student I have been introduced to a variety of sociological theories and found that Karl Marx’s social conflict theory is the best sociological theory that can be tied into this essay on police’s use of racial profiling. This is because Marx’s theory is based on the inequalities between people and groups of people based on their gender, race, sex and ethnicity (Tönnies 1974, Marx & Jordan 1972). His theory states that society is broken up into two major social classes which is “the ruling class” and “the oppressed class” (Tönnies 1974, Marx & Jordan 1972). According to Marx’s theory a person or group of people with more power tend to oppress and exploit people who are of a lower class and have less power, thus causing social

Racism is an unpleasant defect left on the American people, a painful reminder of the gaping wound inflicted by the horror and inhumanity of the African slave trade that began in the 1500s. Although, there has been a great deal of proceed made in the century and half since slavery was officially disguised by the united states government in the form of Abraham Lincoln’s independence Proclamation in 1860, it has by no means disappeared. It still rears its distasteful head even today in myriads forms, including the snowball effect it has had upon many sides of the lives of black people even today. Although we now have many nationally visible black citizens and have even gone so far as to put a black president in the white house, we

A previous study examines minority police officer’s contribution to police-ethnic minority conflict management. This study talks about communications between police and citizens with migration background are prone to conflict. Police services are staffed with officers that have a family migration background so that way it will be easier to reach out to those types of families to let them know that they are not alone and that there are police officers willing to help them through anything. “Minority police officer’s conflict intensification can be framed as being a point of friction. We conclude that minority police officers are beneficial to police-ethnic minority conflict management and suggest continuous monitoring of minority police officers ' roles by police authorities.” This study has shown that police officers with an ethnic minority background significantly contribute to intercultural conflict resolution (Decker, C., & Kersten, J. 2014). These results from this study will show me the true significance of having minorities on the police force and what they will contribute to law enforcement and society.

This paper provides an overview of the problems facing the police in their efforts to improve relations with minority communities in the United States, as well as a survey of previous research and existing literature on cultural diversity

Those of the minority community have been subjected, for many decades, to violence by those in law enforcement in the United States. This type of violence is a direct depiction of police brutality, which often leads to death. Police brutality has been an issue for many years, and it remains a major concern for those of the minority community.

In order to answer the question of whether or not police discriminate based on race, we would have to know exactly what police are thinking at the time of detaining, questioning or arresting an offender. An officer supplying this information without fear of disciplinary action is not something we could reasonably expect to happen. Police officers, much like the general public take account of visible characteristics of the citizen, whether or not they respond or behave different based on a specific attribute is what would constitute as racism. Black (1980), notes that discrimination in policing is unavoidable because police handle all cases differently. However, arresting someone based on race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status etc. is considered

In the aftermath of the Ferguson riots, FBI Director James Comey delivered a truly socially conscious speech, “The Hard Truths: Law Enforcement and Race.” Comey said, “At many points in American history, law enforcement enforced the status quo, a status quo that was often brutally unfair to disfavored groups.” He pointed out that police vans are still referred to as “paddy wagons,” a direct and bigoted slight towards Irish Americans. “The Irish had tough times, but little compares to the experience on our soil of black Americans,” added Comey.

The police should exercise their powers under Schedule 7 in a sensitive, well-informed and unbiased manner, these statistics do not constitute evidence that those powers were being used in a racially discriminatory manner. An emphatic dissenting note was sounded by Lord Kerr, who noted that discrimination may be on racial grounds even if it is not the sole ground for the decision. He considered that by authorising the use of a coercive power even partly on the grounds of race and religion, Schedule 7 “not only permits direct discrimination, it is entirely at odds with the notion of an enlightened